Capturing The Time
by Sam2602
Summary: Just something for my friend and for fun. Later maybe yaoi theme, thus M rating.
1. Through the Hole

**1. Through the Hole**

"It will not fit in."

"Have a little faith..."

"This has nothing to do with God, Father. In fact, I do not think He would approve."

"Tres, shut up and hold on."

"At least be careful or it will rip."

"Nonsense! Haven't you heard Professor? He said that it should be fine as long as we do it slowly. And see, I am going as slowly as I can."

"Not slowly enough, Father Nightlord. Please slow down."

"You're not doing it right..."

"I am doing it just as Professor taught me, Father."

"Hehe, you're so cute when you're pouting, Tres."

"I am not pouting, Father."

"Yes, you are. Hahaha."

"Father! The hole is closing! Hurry."

"Hold on!"

…

"Tres? Are you alright?"

"Yes, Father Nightlord, I am But you are bleeding."

"Eeeh? What? Where?"

"On your head. You must have hit it during the landing. It is not very serious. I will clean it for you once I find the first aid kit."

"Thanks. Uh, where are we?"

"I do not know."

"Can you see anything from the windows?"

"Trees."

"That is not very informative, Tres."

"There are pines, spruces and few larches…"

"Okay, okay, I get it, we landed in a forest."

"Crashed, Father."

"You always have to be right, huh?"

"You are muttering, Father. You remember what Lady Sforza said about muttering, do you not?"

"And you surely remember what I said to that."

"I cannot repeat that."

"Hahaha. Of course you cannot. Alright, can you estimate the damage to the ship?"

"Just a moment… We have lost one of the motors, the other one is functioning on 15%. Hull has been breached on multiple places. We have lost…

"Tres…? Just tell me, will we be able to repair it by ourselves?"

"No."

"What do you mean by that?"

"No, we cannot repair the ship by ourselves. We will need new motor at least."

"Ah, I see."

"What do you see, Father?"

"… That's just a figure of speech, Tres. And stop calling me _Father_. Haven't I told you already?"

"Yes, Father."

"… You do it on purpose."

"We should gather what is left from our provisions and things. We have to find out where we are."

"Can't it wait?"

"We are under orders. The time is-"

"The time is irrelevant right now, Tres. Once we got through that hole, it closed behind us. We can be anywhere, any _when_."

"You did agree to the mission, Father."

"Stop calling me _Father_, Tres, please."

"As you with, Mr. Nightlord."

"…"

"You seem tired."

"I am exasperated, Tres. Why can't you just call me _Abel_?"

"That would be disrespectful, sir. You are my superior and senior."

"What?! Senior?! How can you say that? I'm still very young!"

"You are nine hundred eighty six years old."

"That's not the point! I am still young. I feel young. And I feel hungry… Do we have anything to eat?"

"No."

"… What?"

"No."

"Tres, that's not funny. I need to eat. I am staaaaarving!"

"You ate three hours ago."

"But since we travelled through the time, it could be hundred years ago already!"

"Or it can be in few hours, which means you _will_ eat soon."

"It doesn't work like that... Come on, there must be something here that we could eat."

"You have that look again."

"Huh? What look?"

"What you called "exasperation"."

"You are enjoying seeing me in pain, don't you, Tres? I knew it! You're an evil person!"

"I am not a person. I am a cyborg. And I am neither evil, nor good. I just am."

"Nope, I'm not gonna believe that. You _are_ evil. You are starving me now. And I am still bleeding!"

…

"You have awoken."

"Have I fallen asleep?"

"You fainted."

"Oh my! Why did I do that?"

"You do not remember?"

"Oh, right! I am staaaaarving!"

"Here."

"What is it?"

"It is-"

"You know what? Don't tell me."

"But just now you…"

"I changed my mind. Just give it to me. Hmmm, not too bad…"

"Your wound has healed. We have been here for five hours and twenty-eight minutes. Somebody might have seen us crash. We have to cover up the ship and leave at once. Our mission-"

"Can wait. Tres, we can be anywhere in the Universe, at any given time! Does that not intrigue you at least a little bit?"

"No."

"Ah, Tres, you are missing so much! Come on, let's have a look around!"

"That is what I have been trying to tell you, Fath-… Mr. Night- … Why are you giving me those looks?"

"CALL ME ABEL!"

"There is no need to shout, I have a very good hearing."

"But a poor memory…"

"You are muttering again. And no, my memory is in perfect condition. Professor ran tests before we left… You are smiling. You were making fun of me."

"Yes, my dear Tres, I was."

"…"

"Come on, Tres, it was funny."

"…"

"Let's go then."

…

"Is there no end to this forest? We've been walking for hours!"

"It has been fifty-three minutes and twenty seconds, sir."

"… It _feels_ like hours."

"It feels like fifty-three minutes and twenty seconds."

"You are no fun, Tres."

"Being _fun_ is not in my programming."

"Can I have a look? Maybe I could adjust it."

"No. Last time you tried to _adjust_ something, I ended up barking like a dog for a week."

"Hahahahaha. Oh, that's right! I completely forgot that!"

"I did not."

"But you got better after that."

"Professor repaired the _adjustments_ you made."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say I hear resentment, my dear Tres. Is it possible that you are sulking?"

"Please do not poke me, sir, there is no point in it. And no, I am not sulking."

"You look like you are."

"I am not."

"You definitely do."

"I definitely do not."

"Lights!"

"That is the moon rising up behind the trees."

"That means that there is the end of the forest, right? Maybe there is a town! Oh, I can already smell the hot tea and hot bath…"

…

"Whyyyyyy?"

"You were right, sir, there is a town."

"But it's so far!"

"I do not agree. It is only fifteen miles away. Based on our current speed and the terrain before us, we should reach it in 5 hours."

"…"

"Father?"

"Abel."

"Excuse me?"

"Abel."

"Yes, that is your name, sir. But I don't under- Ah, I get it…"

"…"

"The longer we stay here, the longer it will take for us to reach the town… Where are you looking?"

"There's something off about that town…"

"It seems like an ordinary town, sir. And based on the animals and trees we have encountered, I am 89% sure that we are still on Earth."

"Yes. But the town looks strange…"

…

"It's 1623, good ser."

"Thank you. Is there a place where we could get some metal plates?"

"What are those?"

"Tres, I don't think they have them yet…"

"But…"

"Come here, Tres. Oh, sir, thank you for your help. That will be all."

"…"

"Tres, I think we are very far in the past. 1623? Dear Lord!"

"Do you think The Lord has something to do with it?"

"… Tres, one day, you're going to drive me insane."

"But you just said His name."

"Forget it. We have to think. It will take few centuries before they invent a motor that we could use for our ship. Is there something that we could use instead?"

"Instead of a motor? No."

"You're not very helpful."

"You ask impossible things."

"Then I guess we are stuck here…"

* * *

And here you have the first chapter! It's not the style that I am used to, but I hope you will like this and enjoy it as much as I have while writing it. Please comment and leave reviews. Any suggestions are welcome and will be taken under consideration. :-)


	2. Stuck

**2. Stuck**

"It has been three weeks, five days, twelve hours and fifteen minutes, Abel."

"I did not ask."

"I know. I am stating the facts. It has been-"

"I heard you the first time, Tres. So, what's your point?"

"Should we not start looking for the vampires?"

"How?"

"I do not understand your question."

"_How_ are we going to look for them? We don't have our ship anymore. And it's 1624, we are likely to stay here for another 400 years. I, for one, am in no hurry."

"I can see that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You are sitting in a hot spring and drinking wine. As you have yesterday and every day for the past three weeks and five days."

"I am in no hurry."

"You said that already."

"Look, Tres, what do you want me to do? Saddle a horse and ride till I find a nest? Do you know how long that could take?"

"But you said we have at least 400 years."

"Smartass."

"…"

"Fine, hand me the towel."

…

"So you really want me to saddle a horse, huh?"

"We can walk."

"Give me the reins!"

"…"

"Are you smirking, Tres? You are, I saw you just now!"

"I most certainly am not smirking, Father."

"Fine, smirk all you want, but stick to calling me "Abel", alright?"

"I was not smirking."

"Look, I don't really mind, you know? It makes you seem more human."

"But I wasn-"

"Hiyeee! Come on, Tres, or are you staying behind?"

…

"So, tell me, Tres, just why do you think we can find the vampires here?"

"There must be a reason why we came through the Hole and emerged in this particular year and place. From what Professor said, the Hole was a rupture in time and we could have ended up anywhere, any when, or nowhere at all. According to my calculations, the probability of ending up here and now was one against 34 billion."

"You actually calculated that?"

"Yes."

"You clearly had nothing better to do, huh? So, you think that wherever the vampires are coming from, it's here?"

"It may be one of the places. We have not seen any coming through the rift since we found the Hole. There might be more rips. If so, we must find them all and find a way to close them before the vampires overflow our world completely. The situation is already bad."

"_Bad_? I had no idea you actually used such a word, Tres. Hehe."

"You make that exasperated face every time I try to explain in numbers."

"Because it makes no sense to me at all. Alright, so let's say that you right and the vampires are really coming through these rips, rifts, whatever. How did they even opened them? And, how are they getting through without ships?"

"Maybe the one here is malfunctioning."

"Huh? Why do you think that?"

"There was nobody nearby the crash site, nobody came through for a long time already and it was not reachable without a ship on our side. It is unlikely that the vampires just stepped through and emerged right in the middle of Pacific Ocean."

"I still don't get it."

"What if the rip was supposed to lead to a patch of land but something happened and it got to be where it was."

"…"

"Running water, Abel, vampires cannot cross it by flying on their own. There is no reason for them to create a rip that they would not be able to use. Not unless it was a mistake. That would explain why there were no guards and no activity at all."

"So basically, you are telling me that a bunch of bloodsuckers found a way to open the time itself, set it up virtually anywhere on the planet in any time they desired, and now they are … what? What are they doing? Why?"

"I do not know the answer to that."

"Of course you don't, you aren't one of them. Who knows what they are thinking… Tres, where are we going?"

"London."

"London? Wait, how do you know where we are? You don't have a map."

"I compared geographical layout of our surrounding to the known maps from our age. Some mountains are unchangeable, forming for thousands of years and staying for even longer. Once the comparison was done, I had a pinpoint location of our whereabouts. Plotting a course from there to the largest town in the current country was easy from there."

"Easy… Whatever you say, my dear. Hmmm, why London?"

"You have a lot of questions."

"I am curious person. So, why?"

"England has declared a war with Spain recently. It is not safe to stay on the outskirts. Also, because of the large army gathering on the plains around London, it is highly possible the vampires also gathered there to find recruits into their own ranks. Dying soldiers of both countries would make excellent new vampires."

"… How do you know all that?"

"Historical facts. I have the whole recorded history or mankind in my memory chips. I just asked few locals about the exact month and the state of the crown in the moment. Everybody is talking about the war. The declaration made James the First and Buckingham popular. Not for long…"

"Why?"

"King James the First will die in few months."

"Ah… Alright, so we are heading towards London. How long will that take?"

"About two weeks, maybe longer, depending on how good horses these will turn out to be. This is something I unfortunately cannot calculate."

"Don't worry about it, Tres."

…

"TEEEEEEEAAAAA!"

"The owner said the tea will be ready in few minutes, Abel."

"I didn't have a good cup of tea for a week, Tres. My sugar is so low I can barely see!"

"You ate whole bag of sugar during the last week."

"That's not the same. I still don't see why we couldn't stop in an inn at least every other day."

"We have no money. We earned a little by selling some gold from the ship, but unless we want sell everything, we have to-"

"I stand out too much, huh?"

"Yes."

"Why haven't you said so from the start?"

"You threw a tantrum the last time I mentioned it. And the money is a valid reason as well."

"Hmmmm."

"What is it?"

"You are changing, my dear Tres, you are changing."

"How?"

"Few weeks ago, you wouldn't care if I threw a tantrum or not."

"I still do not. But we could be thrown out of the inn if you started now."

"…"

…

"Can you see anything?"

"Yes."

"And _what_ do you see?"

"We were correct. The vampires' encampment is just below that mountain."

"Good. We will stay here for the night and scout the area during the day."

"Yes."

"Soooo, it's just you and me, the sky is full of stars…"

"Why do you say it every night?"

"I am testing your will."

"I do not understand."

"No, of course you wouldn't…"

"Why are you sighing?"

"It's nothing. Alright, keep the watch, I'm going to take a nap."


	3. Vampires' Nest

**3. Vampires' Nest**

"It wasn't as big as I thought it would be."

"Thirty-seven vampires in total. There must be another lair elsewhere."

"Yes. Hmmm, yummy..."

"You have drops of blood on your shirt."

"Oh, shoot! Is it visible?"

"I can see it."

"That's not what I meant, Tres. Will it be… You know, forget it."

"As you wish."

"Do you have the map?"

"Yes, I have it. There are few locations marked. We should check all of them."

"Then we better start."

…

"Three vampires' nests in two days. I'm completely wasted! But full too, hehe."

"There is still one mark on the map we have to check. It is further up North, in the direction we came from. The location suggests it could be the main camp. It is also possible that a rift could be there."

"Why do you think that?"

"It is not that far from the one we came through. Since that one is unusable for them, maybe they set up a new one nearby. Otherwise it doesn't make a sense to be so far from the soldiers. From the nests we have discovered, it seems like they really were making new vampires, but there weren't many fledglings."

"Hmmm, you're right. My guess is they send them wherever it is they have the main camp."

"Yes. That is my assumption as well."

"Then we should get ready. It is not likely that they will just sit in simple tents waiting to be ripped apart. Is there any hold at that area?"

"Just a moment… Yes. According to historical research, there is one. It is not too large but well-fortified."

"How well?"

"Just one access point, over the drawbridge. There is five meters deep trench around the hold. We can presume that it is filled with water or spikes. Either way, the drawbridge is the only way in."

"Not necessarily."

"What do you mean?"

"What about tunnels? Aren't there always tunnels deep underground and leading to the cellar? Some escape route in case of an invasion?"

"Yes, but there is nothing in the available data about a tunnel."

"Maybe it collapsed over the years."

"That is a possible explanation."

"Ha! We must celebrate!"

"Why?"

"This is a memorable moment, Tres!"

"I still do not understand, Abel."

"This is the first time I came up with an idea before you!"

"…"

"Oh, come on! We have to celebrate this! And I want champagne!"

"You cannot have it, they have not started mass productions yet. Will wine be alright?"

"I guess. But it won't be as much fun. Alright, let's have the wine and relax for today. We can get on the bloody road tomorrow morning."

"You do not seem happy about it."

"I am not."

…

"Alright, so the drawbridge would be a suicide. What about those tunnels? Any idea where they might have the entrance?"

"The area around is flat, any movement would be seen miles ahead. There, that forest seems like a place to start looking. Even from here, it is thick and with a dense undergrowth."

"Good eye, Tres!"

"…"

"What now? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You are stating the obvious. Why?"

"Ahhhh, Tres, I wish _you_ weren't so dense sometimes…"

"Is this the moment where I should stop asking questions that make you exasperated?"

"Yes, Tres, this is the moment."

"Alright then."

"Good boy. Now, how do we get there without being seen?"

"We go around, making a 6 point 8 miles circle… Where are you going?"

"To the forest, of course!"

"But… You said… You are right in the open."

"Yes, I am. It is almost sunrise, the vampires won't be caught outside and I guess they are just about to go to bed, coffins, whatever they use these days."

They could have human slaves."

"… I haven't thought of that."

"Shall we circle- What are you doing now?"

"I'm waving, Tres. Have you never seen anybody wave before?"

"I have. Why are you waving your hands?"

"I am trying to find out whether there is somebody watching."

"Apparently, there is. The drawbridge is lowering."

"Follow my lead!"

…

"I don't know what we would do if you haven't found us! We have been stranded in this strange country for days!"

"You don't seem to come from these parts and your name doesn't suit your appearance, Mr. _Garcia_."

"Oh, my mother was Spanish, my father unknown, kind sir. My mother says I look like him, so I came looking for him and got lost."

"You aren't very bright, are you? Hmph, and what's with your companion? _Petro Orsini_, was it? He's Italian?"

"Yes, he's my manservant. Poor kid, he's not right in the head."

"He's clearly not the only one…"

"What was that, kind sir?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all. Well, Mr. Garcia, I'm afraid you are out of luck."

"Oh, why is that?"

"Because you won't be leaving."

"Oh, thank you, I was hoping to ask you for accommodation for a short while. I would like to rest and our horses could use the rest as well."

"This will be easier than I thought… Alright, of course you can stay. In the dungeons. Patrick, take those two fools to the dungeons. I will deal with them later."

"Shall I put a guard there, master?"

"No, that won't be necessary."

…

"This went better than I thought, Tres!"

"We are locked in the dungeon. And you made me keep silent and still the whole time. And you lied about our names. Why did you lie about our names?"

"Habit. Anyway, the bars don't seem to be too thick, we should be able to break through them. The vampires will be sleeping mostly now and they won't expect an attack from within the hold."

"There were at least two hundred of them just in the main hall. We have to have a plan. If one starts making a noise or if someone hears us, we won't be able to get out of this one."

"Oh, are you scared, Tres? That is so adorable!"

"Please stop hugging me, Abel. I am not scared. I do however have a self-preservation programming and until the mission is completed, I cannot stop functioning. Unless me stopping functioning brings the mission to a successful end."

"Don't even say that, Tres! I want you to keep functioning."

"Abel, please withdraw your hands, I cannot move like this."

"Then don't move for a while."

"We need to remove the bars. I cannot do that without moving."

"Spoilsport. Fine, fine, I'm letting go of you. Can you open the bars silently?"

"Yes."


	4. In the Hold

**4. In the Hold**

"I told you to do it quietly!"

"You were the one making the noise, Abel."

"How can you say that?! They heard you opening the gate. It had nothing to do with me."

"You tripped over your robes and crashed in the opened the door, smashing it against the bars. I am actually surprised you have not woken the whole hold up."

"You're surprised? Hehe, I didn't think you were capable of such an emotion!"

"Abel, please stop hugging me, it was just a figure of speech. I am trying to match your speech to appear more human."

"You're doing an excellent job, Tres."

"We should move on. Maybe there are still some vampires that have not heard you; we should try to kill them before they find out the bodies."

"Right, right… Okay, which way did we come down here?"

"Were you not paying any attention?"

"I was, though to something else."

"… You are looking at me strangely. Should I ask what you were paying attention to?"

"You can certainly ask, my dear Tres, but I shan't tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because…"

"Because of what?"

"Because I don't want to. And now, stop questioning me!"

"You wanted me to question you."

"You're pouting! Hahaha. I never thought I'd see the day!"

"I AM NOT pouting, Father Nightlord."

"Alright, alright, no need to get all formal on me!"

…

"That was a lot of vampires... Ahhh, I am so tired!"

"There is still one missing."

"You have counted them?"

"There is no need to look at me so incredulously, Abel. Of course I have counted them, it is what I do."

"Yes, I keep forgetting… Say, have you counted how much have we spent on this trip already?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"What?"

"Can you elaborate?"

"Yes, I have counted how much we have already spent on this trip."

"You are doing this on purpose, aren't you? You are avoiding my question!"

"No, Abel, I am not. In fact, I am answering your question. It is _you_ that is asking a wrong question perhaps. You have asked me, whether I have counted the expenses. The answer to that question is "yes". Is there something else you wanted to know then?"

"… Forget it, I have already…"

"You have very short memory then. Maybe you should have it checked when we get back."

"Yes, I should. Come on, didn't you say there is one more left? Which one is it?"

"The leader."

"Oh, right… Something tells me he's not going to come down easily."

"Abel, we still need to learn about the nature of the rifts in time and how they are creating them. If someone knows, it will be the leader. You should not kill him right away."

"This is no fun trip at all…"

"It was not supposed to be fun trip."

"What? And nobody cared to tell me that before?"

"…"

…

"I remember telling you not to kill him right away. I did tell you that. Why have you killed him before we could question him?"

"He almost killed us! And don't give me that look."

"What look?"

"You know perfectly well which look I mean. The I-told-you-to-do-something-but-you-never-listen-to-me look."

"I did tell you."

"Yes! You did and I did not listen! Happy? Can we move on now?"

"But _why_ have you chose to act regardless my request?"

"Because I felt like it."

"…"

"What?!"

"You are unusually defensive."

"Yeah, well, I had a bad day."

"…"

"What _now_?!"

"Nothing. I happen to agree with you on that."

"Oh? Well that's a first… Ah, let's go. All this standing in the middle of the carcass makes me queasy."

"…"

"What is that look for, Tres?"

"I am wondering how comes you are feeling queasy now when you were feeding on that vampire just a moment ago."

"…"

"Abel?"

"Don't interrupt; I am trying to come up with a smartass answer."

"Let's just move on then. The leader had a key on a chain around his neck. It is possible that it will unlock the answer to what the rift is."

"It better or we are screwed. And yes, I know it's _my_ fault."

…

"Hmmm, do you have any idea if it'll work, Tres?"

"I do have an idea, but I cannot tell if I am correct unless I try it."

"Wait! What if it doesn't though? What if…"

"Yes?"

"What if…"

"Yes, Abel?"

"Never mind. I just think we should be careful with it."

"I agree. But there are no tests we can run until I start the systems."

"Fine, fine, I know. Just be careful, alright?"

"I always am."

"…"

"…"

"So…?"

"It works."

"I can see that. But is it damaged? Can we use it?"

"No and no."

"What do you mean?"

"No, it is not damaged, but no, we cannot use it."

"And why can't we use it when it's not broken?"

"…"

"Tres?"

"My first calculation seems to be wrong."

"What? So it _is_ damaged?"

"No, but we _can_ use it."

"Hm, and what made you think we couldn't? You usually don't go making mistakes like that…"

"I looked at it from the point of view of using it as a whole ship. We cannot use it as such, because the control panels were locked. It would take far too long to work out the passwords and the layers of protection seem to run deeper than that. My estimation is that in addition to passwords, there will be a scanning process, possibly linked to our dead vampire leader."

"Oh. Hmph, you just can't let that one go, can you?"

"I was not ref-"

"That's okay; I'm just teasing you, Tres. Alright, so if it is locked as such, then why do you think we still can use it?"

"We can use parts of it."

"What do you mean?"

"The power cells on our ship were fried, but the ones here are intact. With a certain amount of modification, I will be able to adapt them to serve our ship to use as a new engine."

"Is there a catch?"

"There are twenty power cells which we will need in order to power our ship. This one has enough of them, but the model is older, which means twenty of them will be about the weight of five elephants and about the same size too."

"Hahahahaha. Elephants…. Hahahahaha."

"…"

"Tres, I swear, your logic will kill me."

"You forbade me to speak in numbers."

"Yes, but the comparison was really good. Haaaa, alright, so, what you're saying is that we won't be able to move it easily."

"Yes, that is correct."

"Then what are our options?"

"That will depend on where the next rift is. We cannot use the one we came through, so we need to find the next one. I expect this ship will have a map to the next point, but without access to the systems, we will have to find a drawn map, or a journal, or anything that is not locked in the computer."

"You do not seem happy about that."

"There is a big chance of finding inaccurate directions. Or we can find something made to lead enemies elsewhere. Computer cannot lie. If I had an access to it, I could extract the data with 98% of accuracy.

"Yes, well, we will have to do it the old fashioned way. Come on, Tres, cheer up, it'll be an adventure!"

"We are already on _adventure_, Abel."

"Yes, and what an unexpected adventure it is. I still can't believe this ship is just sitting on top of the hold like this…"

"There is no way anybody could see it from the ground and almost zero chance for a human to be high enough to see it."

"Right, right. Anyway, maybe we could start looking in the leader's chambers. Or that Patrick's room."

"Why his rooms?"

"He seemed to be trusted by the leader, but I doubt he could read properly. He looked like he was from this age. The leader did not though. My guess is that he opened the rift, flew his ship through, settled here and found followers, possibly created them. Patrick seemed like a person worshipping his leader, so he probably knew more about the plans and such. If I am correct, then the leader would have given him a map or something for him to orient around without having to read."

"That does make sense."

"You sound impressed, Tres. Hihi."

"… Yes. I am _impressed_."


	5. Portals

**5. Portals**

"It doesn't seem so impressive."

"I do not agree with that statement."

"Oh, and you would know all there is about being impressive, huh?"

"It is a technological marvel, Abel, even you must be able to appreciate that."

"Hehe, there are other _technological marvels_ that I'd like to appreciate…"

"Please keep your hands off me, Abel."

"Fine, fine, you're no fun at all. Anyway, what are we looking at?"

"According to this document, it is a two ways portal."

"Two ways? How so?"

"From this place to corresponding place in our time, or to another place but same time. According to the journal we found, it is not possible to come back from our dimension once we use this portal."

"Aha… Did it mention anything about the one we came through?"

"Yes. It was one of the first attempts to set a permanent link between our time and this one. The link went astray and ended up above the water in place it was not supposed to. They have lost many fledglings before finding out the problem."

"Then, why haven't they simply closed it?"

"It was designed to be closed from the third destination. But it always has to stay on one line, either in time or place."

"Wait, let me get this straight… So, we have a portal here and now, this functioning one. From here and now, we can go … where?"

"First, we can go back to our time which will let us emerge in this exact place in our time. But we will not be able to return from there here. If there are more portals and it seems there are, we won't be able to find them and close all of them."

"I don't understand… And don't you go making that frustrated face on me!"

"I am not. Alright, let me explain on an example. We are in England, it is 1624. With this portal, we can go either back to our time, England, this same hill. Or, we can go some other place in 1624. Let's say, we will emerge in Madrid in 1624. Once there, we could use _that_ portal to go either to our time Madrid, or Madrid of some other age. In any case, we will not be able to go back to this exact place and time again. Once on the other side, we can only move forward to next portal and so on until we find all of them. When we find the last, it should take us only to one destination."

"And which is that?"

"To our time of course. Any place it will be at, but our time nonetheless. Once back in our time, we can find all the portals according to places we will visit and close one by one from our time. Then the only one that will remain is the original one that we came through here. That one will be also closed from our time, leaving us there and all the ways closed."

"…"

"What is wrong, Abel?"

"It seems like an awful lot of work."

"Yes, you are probably right about that. But we cannot tell until we start traveling through the portals."

"Then we better get to it."

"I agree."

"There's just one thing left though, huh?"

"What thing?"

"We have to find a way to move those bloody power cells back to our ship."

"I already found a way."

…

"When you said you found a way, I didn't think you'd make me into a mule."

"I have not, Abel. You are only leading the mules."

"Yes, but I have to _load_ them too."

"I can stop working on the engine and help you, if you want."

"…"

"What is that look for?"

"That was a very obvious blackmail, Tres. I never thought I'd see the day. Although, I don't know if I should be happy or angry right now."

"What do you mean?"

"Happy that you are using this method of getting what you want or angry, for the very same reason."

"I have not been blackmailing you, Abel."

"Yes, you were. Just now, you were blackmailing me. You know perfectly well that I can't let you slave yourself off by dragging the power cells from the hold to our ship and then start working on them to adapt them to our engine."

"Incorrect. You _can_ let me do it."

"Yes, but you know I _won't_."

"Yes."

"Then it _is_ blackmail, Tres."

"I see."

"You're not going to apologize, huh?"

"No."

"You little punk, I swear I just saw you smirk!"

"You are wrong."

"Am I?"

"Yes."

"Very well, have it your way. I'm off now."

"Abel?"

"Yes?"

"Can you bring the power cells next time? The trip is pointless otherwise."

"Oh, shoot!"

…

"That's that last one. How long till you finish the engine?"

"Three days. Longer, if you keep hanging on me."

"I am exhausted!"

"May I suggest you go to your rooms and lie down there?"

"Will you join me?"

"That would prolong the time of getting the engine ready."

"Not the point, Tres."

"Then I do not see the point, sir."

"Aaaah, I am such a poor poor vampire."

"Krusnik. But I still do not see the point."

"That's alright, Tres. Keep your innocence. Maybe I'll explain it to you one day. Hihi."

"…"

"What?"

"You have that grin like you are going to eat me."

"Maybe I am going to."

"But I am no vampire. I wouldn't provide sufficient nutrition for you."

"… Again, not the point. Never mind, I'm going to get some sleep. You can join me when you're finished."

"You eye is blinking. Maybe some dirt got into it."

"…"

"Abel?"

"Good night, Tres."


	6. Man Enough

**6. Man Enough**

"This is it, Tres, the moment of truth is here!"

"How does this qualify as the moment of truth?"

"Now we find out if you're a man indeed!"

"I think we have established that already. I am not a man, I am highly technologically advance cyborg programmed-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know this part. But I'm still looking forward to you admitting you were wrong."

"I was not."

"Yes, you were."

"No, I was not."

"Tres!"

"Yes, Abel?"

"We're in bloody Egypt and that over there are Roman legions!"

"Yes."

"So, you were wrong!"

"No."

"Aaaaaargh! Alright, explain to me how you saying "_According to this journal, we will arrive to New York in fifties of twentieth century"_ makes you correct about _this_!"

"I said _according to this journal_."

"Yes, you have. So?"

"Obviously, the journal was wrong."

"Why, in the name of God, would it be wrong about something like this?!"

"Maybe it was left there intentionally to mislead anybody that came looking for the portals."

"Yes, that does make sense. Except, it _does not_! Nobody knows we are here and what we are doing."

"I disagree."

"Of course you do… Come to think of it, you rarely agree with me. Sniff. That is _so_ unfair, you know?!"

"Abel, we have more pressing matters right now. Please stop throwing a tantrum."

"You are exceptionally unfunny today."

"I was not program-"

"_I know_! Fine, tell me your theory and why you think it's the right one this time. Hehe, time, hehe."

"What about time, Abel?"

"Nothing, a private joke."

"I see."

"You're not going to ask about it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because anything that makes you snicker like this is not worth asking."

"That is mean!"

"That is the truth. I do not choose whether it is mean to you or not."

"No, you do choose. I can tell when you say things on purpose! Hmph, I think you are studying me!"

"There is no need for the accusing tone, Abel."

"But you're not denying it!"

"You have not asked me any question. There is nothing to be confirmed or denied."

"_Do _you study me?"

"Yes."

"_What?!_"

"Yes, I am studying you. To be precise, I am studying your reaction in certain situations. It is called behaviorism. It is part of my programming to learn about human interactions and reactions. You are the only person that is almost human, thus I conduct my study on you."

"…"

"As for my theory why I disagree with you. There are at least-"

"Wait, wait, _wait_! Go back to the part that you make your studies on me. Are those the only ones?"

"Your suspicion is understandable."

"Tres, you have not answered. I know you _have to_ answer truthfully and since you didn't answer right away… Oh my God! You _are_ making more tests!

"Yes. But I promise you, you have nothing to worry about. None of my studies are harmful."

"That coming from someone that claims not to feel and not being human is not very reassuring, you know?"

"I do not understand."

"Doesn't matter. But _what_ kind of test are you doing on me?"

"Not tests, studies. I record how long do you sleep each day, how much you feed and what kind of activities you are doing during the day in correlation with the amount of sleep and blood you need to replenish your strength."

"Why?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you doing these _studies_ anyway? What kind of perverted programming did the Professor put into you?"

"It was not the Professor."

"That perv- What? What do you mean it wasn't him? Who then?"

"I have standard programming for observation and learning. To put it simply, it is like a background program running nonstop, recording behavior in everyday situations automatically."

"That does not explain why you _create_ situation to learn about my behavior."

"…"

"Tres?"

"I do not know the answer to that."

"Tres, what is the _purpose_ of your studies?"

"To learn more about you."

"W-what?"

"You asked-"

"I know what I asked! … Why are you looking at me like that?"

"How did you know what to ask to get an answer from me even though I did not know it myself?"

"I didn't. I just guessed that if it is something on subconscious level, a direct question would make your programming find the correct and truthful answer."

"Your guess was correct. But…"

"Yes?"

"What does it mean?"

"Maybe that you care for me. Hihi."

"…"

"What? No protests? No pushing me away this time? Wow, Tres, I am flattered! Can I kiss you?"

"No. And please do stop hugging me."

"Ah, so cruel again!"

"We have to focus back on the problem we have now."

"I am having no problems right _now_."

"Abel, your hands."

"Ow, so cute when you're like this. But alright, I can wait…"

"Wait for what?"

"Oh, never mind. What were you saying?"

"I was going to remind you that we are in Egypt, that the legions seemed to notice our presence and that they have dispatched few riders to bring us in."

"Why haven't you said so earlier?"

"I did try but you-"

"Fine, fine, I get it, it's _my fault again_. Run!"

…

"Good thinking, Tres! Those bastards sure were fast!"

"The probability of the dune being here was very low."

"Tres, we say it was _luck_."

"That has no base in statistics."

"No, it just is. And this was a damn good luck at that. But now that we lost them, tell me, why on earth have you not headed towards our ship?"

"It must stay protected, Abel. If we did not make it in time, the ship then could fall into wrong hands. The possibility of us being captured and consequently killed was high; therefore I headed in different direction."

"They wouldn't even see it!"

"That is possible, but anybody walking within two feet would be able to feel the barrier. Their first instinct would be to avoid it, but these are Romans and they are trained differently. Eventually, they would discover the ship and in time, they would be able to get inside. This is something that we have to prevent."

"I know, Tres, I know, but it's going to be one hell of a walk back to the ship. Not to mention that we will have to walk in a large circle to avoid being seen by any sentinels they might have posted now that they lost us in the desert…"

"Yes. We should hurry too."

"Why?"

"The Sun is setting and in 57 minutes, the temperature is going to fall from the plus forty it is now to minus ten."

"Let's go!"

…

"You took your time, Father Nightroad. And I see you brought the cyborg with you. Good. Now, since we are all here, let's have a chat…"

"Sebastian Bale."

"That's _Count Sebastian Bale_ for you, krusnik."


	7. Caught Again

**7. Caught Again**

"_Do you think he found our ship_?"

"_It does seem probable._"

"Hey! Quiet back there!"

"Where are we going? It's getting coooold!"

"You're an embarrassment to the Vatican, Nightlord. As for where we are going, you'll see when we get there."

"What do you care for Vatican? You're trying to destroy our world!"

"On the opposite, my dear Father, but you wouldn't understand. Geniuses like me are often misunderstood."

"You're not a genius, you're a monster!"

"Am I? Well, I suppose you would know, being one yourself, right?"

"Do not let it bother you, Abel, you are not a monster."

"Know your place, machine! Nobody's been talking to you."

"Thank you, Tres. And you, _count_, don't you dare talking to Tres like that!"

"Oh, gotten yourself a boyfriend, have you?"

"Just shut up if you're not going to tell us where you're taking us."

"You're awfully cocksure for a captive, Nightroad."

"And you're just awful."

"Hahaha. Yes, I suppose I am. But enough of that, all this talk is getting annoying!"

"Let me just ask one thing. We have pretty much figured how your portals are working. We have been to half dozen places already, getting rid of your vampire followers at each site of the portal and as many as we could found around. Setting the portals around important historical events involving battles, wars and such is definitely ingenuous, I admit that."

"Ah, yes. I can't set unlimited number of portals, especially in one time line. It is best to keep the number to two all around the world."

"Why?"

"I think I can answer that, Abel."

"Thinking machine, that's new. Alright, what do you _think_?"

"The portals are linked to each other. Setting more than two ways into one time could confuse the portals. It would be too unstable to travel through."

"The wonder of wonders, it's actually right! Yes, I tried to set more than two portals in one time line and it was, well, let's just say I lost quite a few vampires to a black hole. Nasty business, really."

"Alright, so far, I can see the point, but _how_ did you find out about us and set that portal to take us here instead of New York?"

"Haha. I'm glad you asked! That's actually my masterpiece. You see, I was near one of the portals back in our time when a straggler vampire stumbles through, covered in blood from head to toe and mumbling about a vampire with wings killing them all off. He was dead before he hit the ground. The portal isn't built safe enough to be travelled through without the protection of a ship."

"Yes, we guessed that much. I remember the one you are talking about. I assumed he'd die in the vortex."

"He should have, really."

"You don't seem to be too beaten up about it."

"I have hundreds of followers and thousands of thralls. And I can make thousands more. Death of one fledgling does not concern me."

"I see that. So I assume you knew right away who was after you and your portals once he told you, huh?

"Yes. From the location he came through, I calculated where you will most likely be in few days and went over there. I left a false journal there so you would just blindly follow the portal and get where I wanted you to be."

"But _how_ did you set up that portal? You said just now that you can't set more than two portals at one time line."

"What about your machine, doesn't it have a theory?"

"I do. But I would like to correct you, I am not a machine, I am a cyborg."

"I don't care. Speak then, what theory you have?"

"You found a way to create a continuous portal. Something of a joint portals that would link several time lines and places and speeding up the travelling process like that."

"Not bad, machine. Yes. Essentially you are correct. It is far more sophisticated, but to simple it down for the krusnik, that explanation will do."

"Hey! What's _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"That you wouldn't be able to get it even if it was said in picture book with small words printed in large letters."

"That's mean!"

"I don't care about that either. And now shut up, we're almost there!

…

"I can't believe he escaped!"

"He was greatly outnumbered. It was his only way to survive."

"It was a coward thing to do though. And to leave us here! I can't believe he left us here! Do you know what the old Egyptians did to their prisoners?!"

"Yes."

"… Well, I don't but I'm sure it was nothing pleasant!"

"Yes, by the historical research it was proven that it was not pleasant to humans."

"Tres, sometimes, I don't need you to agree with me, or tell me everything, especially when it's not good."

"As you wish."

"Tres?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we'll be able to get away from here?"

"…"

"Tres?"

"Yes, we will."

"Why did you pause before answering?"

"You said you did not wish me to tell you everything if it was not going to be good."

"..."

"Shall I tell you then?"

"No. No, don't. Just, we will find a way that _will_ end well for us, alright? We will."

"Yes, we will."

…

"Where are they taking us?"

"Rome."

"What?!"

"They are taking us to Rome as war trophies."

"How do you know that?"

"I overheard them speaking about it. They also found our ship. It is being brought as well, although that will take them much longer."

"How long?"

"At least three months. Abel, you do not look well."

"I'm sea sick. We've been on this ship for a week."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You can hold my hand."

"Yes, I can do that."

"Thanks, Tres."

"Abel?"

"Yes?"

"Back in Egypt, before the Count caught us, you were acting strange."

"Strange? What do you mean?"

"You wanted to kiss me. Why?"

"Hehe, I see. It's been on your mind for this long?"

"Yes."

"Well, I wanted to because I like you."

"So it is something people do when they like each other?"

"Yes."

"I … see."

"You're so cute when you are this clueless!"

"Abel, why are you hugging me now?"

"You have lots of questions today, Tres."

"I… Yes, I do."

"Tres, sometimes, words aren't enough…"

"…"

"Tres?"

"You… Your lips…"

"Did it feel good?"

"… Yes."

"Then how about I teach you how to kiss?"


End file.
